David Sheff

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Beautiful Boyexplores the transformation of Jarvis Jay Masters who has become one of Americas most inspiring Buddhist practitioners while locked in a cell on death row. Jarvis Jay Masterss early life was a horror story whose outline we know too well. Born in Long Beach, California, his house was filled with crack, alcohol, physical abuse, and men who paid his mother for sex. He and his siblings were split up and sent to foster care when he was five, and he progressed quickly to juvenile detention, car theft, armed robbery, and ultimately San Quentin. While in prison, he was set up for the murder of a guarda conviction which landed him on death row, where hes been since 1990.At the time of his murder trial, he was held in solitary confinement, torn by rage and anxiety, felled by headaches, seizures, and panic attacks. A criminal investigator repeatedly offered to teach him breathing exercises which he repeatedly refused. Until desperation moved him to ask her how to do that meditation shit. With uncanny clarity, David Sheff describes Masterss gradual but profound transformation from a man dedicated to hurting others to one who has prevented violence on the prison yard, counseled high school kids by mail, and helped prisonersand even guardsfind meaning in their lives.Along the way, Masters becomes drawn to the principles that Buddhism espousescompassion, sacrifice, and living in the momentand he gains the admiration of Buddhists worldwide, including many of the faiths most renowned practitioners. And while he is still in San Quentin and still on death row, he is a renowned Buddhist thinker who shows us how to ease our everyday suffering, relish the light that surrounds us, and endure the tragedies that befall us all.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author, an extraordinary story of redemption in the darkest of places.Jarvis Jay Masterss early life was a horror story whose outline we know too well. Born in Long Beach, California, his house was filled with crack, alcohol, physical abuse, and men who paid his mother for sex. He and his siblings were split up and sent to foster care when he was five, and he progressed quickly to juvenile detention, car theft, armed robbery, and ultimately San Quentin. While in prison, he was set up for the murder of a guard a conviction which landed him on death row, where hes been since 1990.At the time of his murder trial, he was held in solitary confinement, torn by rage and anxiety, felled by headaches, seizures, and panic attacks. A criminal investigator repeatedly offered to teach him breathing exercises which he repeatedly refused, until desperation moved him.With uncanny clarity, David Sheff describes Masterss gradual but profound transformation from a man dedicated to hurting others to one who has prevented violence on the prison yard, counselled high school kids by mail, and helped prisoners -and even guards find meaning in their lives.

More American children recognize Super Mario, the hero of one of Nintendos video games, than Mickey Mouse. The Japanese company has come to earn more money than the big three computer giants or all Hollywood movie studios combined. Now Sheff tells of the Nintendo invasiona tale of innovation and cutthroat tactics.

Una crónica entrañable y aterradora sobre las adicciones, que es también un poderoso y conmovedor retrato de familia.¿Qué le pasó a mi hijo? ¿A nuestra familia? ¿En qué me equivoqué? Esas son las tormentosas preguntas que acompañan a David Sheff en su viaje a traves de la adiccion a las drogas y los intentos de desintoxicarse de su hijo Nic. Antes de hacerse adicto, Nic Sheff era un niño encantador, alegre y simpatico. Adorado por todos, era un buen estudiante y un gran atleta. Pero las metanfetaminas lo transformaron en un tembloroso espectro que mentia, robaba y que llego a vivir en las calles. En estas paginas, David Sheff traza las primeras señales de alarma y la negacion ante el problema, asi como su propia preocupacion obsesiva por Nic, que se convirtio en otro tipo de adiccion con consecuencias igualmente tragicas.Este libro es para las mujeres y hombres que han dedicado sus vidas a entender y luchar contra las adicciones. Para ellos y sus familias: a las personas que comprenden la historia de mi familia porque la han vivido y todavia la viven. Y a padres como yoDavid SheffAbsolutamente cautivador: uno de los libros mas emocionantes que he leido en mucho tiempo. Este libro es imprescindible para padres con hijos adictos, o para cualquiera que tenga un ser querido con problemasDra. Isabel Gomez Bassols, autora bestseller.Besteller de The New York Times.

Ara fa vint anys, poques setmanes abans de l’assassinat d’en John Lennon, el periodista de la revista Playboy, David Sheff entrava a casa d’en John Lennon i Yoko Ono. Al fer-ho, entrava també en els

THE NUMBER ONE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER NOW A MAJOR FILM, STARRING STEVE CARELL AND BAFTA AND GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINATED TIMOTHEE CHALAMET What had happened to my beautiful boy? To our family? What did I do wrong? Those are the wrenching questions that haunted every moment of David Sheffs journey through his son Nics addiction to drugs and tentative steps toward recovery. Before Nic Sheff became addicted to crystal meth, he was a charming boy, joyous and funny, a varsity athlete and honor student adored by his two younger siblings. After meth, he was a trembling wraith who lied, stole, and lived on the streets.With haunting candour, David Sheff traces the first subtle warning signs: the denial, the 3am phone calls (is it Nic? the police? the hospital?), the attempts at rehab. His preoccupation with Nic became an addiction in itself, and the obsessive worry and stress took a tremendous toll. But as a journalist, he instinctively researched every avenue of treatment that might save his son and refused to give up on Nic. This story is a first: a teenagers addiction from the parents point of view a real-time chronicle of the shocking descent into substance abuse and the gradual emergence into hope. Beautiful Boy is a fiercely candid memoir that brings immediacy to the emotional rollercoaster of loving a child who seems beyond help. Read the other side of Nic Sheffs bestselling memoir, Tweak. Praise for Beautiful Boy:-A brilliant, harrowing, heartbreaking, fascinating story, full of beautiful moments and hard-won wisdom. This book will save a lot of lives and heal a lot of hearts. Anne LamottAn important book... moving, timely and startlingly beautiful. Richard Branson

#1 New York Times bestsellerA brilliant, harrowing, heartbreaking, fascinating story, full of beautiful moments and hard-won wisdom. This book will save a lot of lives and heal a lot of hearts. Anne LamottWhat had happened to my beautiful boy? To our family? What did I do wrong? Those are the wrenching questions that haunted David Sheffs journey through his son Nics methamphetamine addiction and tentative steps toward recovery. Before Nic became addicted to crystal meth, he was a charming boy, joyous and funny, a varsity athlete and honor student adored by his two younger siblings. After meth, he was a trembling wraith who lied, stole, and lived on the streets. As a father grappling with his sons drug abuse, David Sheff traces the first warning signs: the denial, the three a.m. phone callsis it Nic? the police? the hospital? His preoccupation with Nic became an addiction in itself. But as a journalist, he instinctively researched every treatment that might save his son. And in this unforgettable family memoir, he refused to give up on Nic.When one of us tells the truth, he makes it easier for all of us to open our hearts to our own pain and that of others. Thats ultimately what Beautiful Boy is about: truth and healing. Mary Pipher, author of Reviving Ophelia Filled with compelling anecdotes and important insights . . . An eye-opening memoir. Washington PostThis is the true story of a fathers journey through the agonizing reality of his sons drug addictiona gripping, firsthand account of a familyTested by one of the toughest challenges a parent can face.A Harrowing Transformation: Witness the heartbreaking descent of a charming, joyous honor student into a life on the streets, driven by a devastating addiction to crystal meth. A Fathers Unconditional Love: Follow David Sheffs relentless search for answers and treatment, a journey fueled by a refusal to give up on his son, no matter how dire the circumstances. Parenting an Addict: Experience the raw, eye-opening account of a parents helplessness, denial, and fierce determination in the face of a childs spiraling substance abuse. An Unforgettable Family Memoir: More than a story of addiction, Beautiful Boy is a deeply moving portrait of a familys pain, resilience, and ultimate hope for recovery.

Absorbing Telegraph Gentle, empathetic, committed to righting undeniable wrongs Sunday Times, Book of the WeekIlluminating and affectionate an intimate and perceptive portraitPublishers WeeklyAn intimate and revelatory biography of Yoko Ono from bestselling author of Beautiful Boy David Sheff met Yoko Ono and John Lennon in 1980 when conducting an in-depth interview with them just months before Johns murder. In the aftermath, Sheff and Yoko became close friends as she rebuilt her life, survived threats and continued creating groundbreaking art and music. Drawing from their decades-long friendship and interviews with Yoko, her family, close friends and collaborators, Sheff shares the story of one of the most unlikely and remarkable lives ever lived. Yoko spans from her birth to wealthy parents in pre-war Tokyo and her harrowing experience as a child during WW2 to her arrival in the avant-garde art scenes of London, Tokyo and New York. We see how she coped under the most intense, relentless and cynical microscope as she was falsely vilified for the most heinous cultural crime imaginable: breaking up the greatest rock-and-roll band in history. So often remembered only for her impact on The Beatles, Yoko has been caricatured as an opportunistic seductress or manipulative impostor. Yoko delves into her life as an artist, musician, feminist and activist, reframing her incredible achievements independent of Lennon. Yoko is a harrowing, moving, propulsive and vastly entertaining biography of a woman whose story has never been accurately told. It highlights Onos incredible talent and acknowledges her as a true artistic icon.

An intimate and revelatory biography of Yoko Ono from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Beautiful Boy.John Lennon once described Yoko Ono as the worlds most famous unknown artist. Everybody knows her name, but no one knows what she does. She has only been important to history insofar as she impacted Lennon. Throughout her life, Yoko has been a caricature, curiosity, and, often, a villainan inscrutable seductress, manipulating con artist, and caterwauling fraud. The Lennon/Beatles saga is one of the greatest stories ever told, but Yokos part has been missinghidden in the Beatles formidable shadow, further obscured by flagrant misogyny and racism. This definitive biography of Yoko Onos life will change that. In this book, Yoko Ono takes centerstage.Yokos life, independent of Lennon, was an amazing journey. Yoko spans from her birth to wealthy parents in pre-war Tokyo, her harrowing experience as a child during the war, her arrival in avant-garde art scene in London, Tokyo, and New York City. It delves into her groundbreaking art, music, feminism, and activism. We see how she coped under the most intense, relentless, and cynical microscope as she was falsely vilified for the most heinous cultural crime imaginable: breaking up the greatest rock-and-roll band in history.This book was nearly a half century in the making. In 1980, David Sheff met Yoko and John when Sheff conducted an in-depth interview with them just months before Johns murder. In the aftermath of the killing, he and Yoko became close as she rebuilt her life, survived threats and betrayals, and went on to create groundbreaking art and music while campaigning for peace and other causes. Drawing from his experiences and interviews with her, her family, closest friends, collaborators, and many others, Sheff shows us Yokos nine decadesone of the most unlikely and remarkable lives ever lived.Yoko is a harrowing, moving, propulsive, and vastly entertaining biography of a woman whose story has never been accurately told. The book not only rehabilitates Yoko Onos reputation but elevates it to iconic status.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author, an extraordinary story of redemption in the darkest of places.Jarvis Jay Masterss early life was a horror story whose outline we know too well. Born in Long Beach, California, his house was filled with crack, alcohol, physical abuse, and men who paid his mother for sex. He and his siblings were split up and sent to foster care when he was five, and he progressed quickly to juvenile detention, car theft, armed robbery, and ultimately San Quentin. While in prison, he was set up for the murder of a guard a conviction which landed him on death row, where hes been since 1990.At the time of his murder trial, he was held in solitary confinement, torn by rage and anxiety, felled by headaches, seizures, and panic attacks. A criminal investigator repeatedly offered to teach him breathing exercises which he repeatedly refused, until desperation moved him.With uncanny clarity, David Sheff describes Masterss gradual but profound transformation from a man dedicated to hurting others to one who has prevented violence on the prison yard, counselled high school kids by mail, and helped prisoners -and even guards find meaning in their lives.Along the way, Masters becomes drawn to the Buddhist principles compassion, sacrifice, and living in the moment -and gains the admiration of Buddhists worldwide. And while he is still in San Quentin and still on death row, he shows us all how to ease our everyday suffering, relish the light that surrounds us, and endure the tragedies that befall us all.

La biografía largamente esperada de una de las figuras más incomprendidas, reconocidas y estigmatizadas («la bruja que separó los Beatles») de los últimos años. Yoko Ono, con la participación directa

THE NUMBER ONE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE, STARRING STEVE CARELL AND TIMOTHEE CHALAMET `What had happened to my beautiful boy? To our family? What did I do wrong?' Those are the wrenching questions that haunted every moment of David Sheff's journey through his son Nic's addiction to drugs and tentative steps toward recovery. Before Nic Sheff became addicted to crystal meth, he was a charming boy, joyous and funny, a varsity athlete and honor student adored by his two younger siblings. After meth, he was a trembling wraith who lied, stole, and lived on the streets. With haunting candour, David Sheff traces the first subtle warning signs: the denial, the 3am phone calls (is it Nic? the police? the hospital?), the attempts at rehab. His preoccupation with Nic became an addiction in itself, and the obsessive worry and stress took a tremendous toll. But as a journalist, he instinctively researched every avenue of treatment that might save his son and refused to give up on Nic. This story is a first: a teenager's addiction from the parent's point of view - a real-time chronicle of the shocking descent into substance abuse and the gradual emergence into hope. Beautiful Boy is a fiercely candid memoir that brings immediacy to the emotional rollercoaster of loving a child who seems beyond help. Read the other side of Nic Sheff's bestselling memoir, Tweak. Praise for Beautiful Boy:- 'A brilliant, harrowing, heartbreaking, fascinating story, full of beautiful moments and hard-won wisdom. This book will save a lot of lives and heal a lot of hearts'. Anne Lamott 'An important book... moving, timely and startlingly beautiful.' Richard Branson

Una crónica entrañable y aterradora sobre las adicciones, que es también un poderoso y conmovedor retrato de familia. Best seller de The New York Times ¿Qué le pasó a mi hijo? ¿A nuestra familia? ¿En que me equivoque? Esas son las tormentosas preguntas que acompañan a David Sheff en su viaje a traves de la adiccion a las drogas y los intentos de desintoxicarse de su hijo Nic. Antes de hacerse adicto, Nic Sheff era un niño encantador, alegre y simpatico. Adorado por todos, era un buen estudiante y un gran atleta. Pero las metanfetaminas lo transformaron en un tembloroso espectro que mentia, robaba y que llego a vivir en las calles. En estas paginas, David Sheff traza las primeras señales de alarma y la negacion ante el problema, asi como su propia preocupacion obsesiva por Nic, que se convirtio en otro tipo de adiccion con consecuencias igualmente tragicas. Este libro es para las mujeres y hombres que han dedicado sus vidas a entender y luchar contra las adicciones. Para ellos y sus familias: a las personas que comprenden la historia de mi familia porque la han vivido y todavia la viven. Y a padres como yo.David SheffReseña:Absolutamente cautivador: uno de los libros mas emocionantes que he leido en mucho tiempo. Este libro es imprescindible para padres con hijos adictos, o para cualquiera que tenga un ser querido con problemas.Dra. Isabel Gomez Bassols, autora best seller

La biografía largamente esperada de una de las figuras más incomprendidas, reconocidas y estigmatizadas («la bruja que separó los Beatles») de los últimos años. Yoko Ono, con la participación directa

THE NUMBER ONE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER NOW A MAJOR FILM STARRING STEVE CARELL AND BAFTA AND GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINATED TIMOTHEE CHALAMET What had happened to my beautiful boy To our family What did I do wrong Those are the wrenching questions that haunted every moment of David Sheff s journey through his son Nic s addiction to drugs and tentative steps toward recovery Before Nic Sheff became addicted to crystal meth he was a charming boy joyous and funny a varsity athlete and honor student adored by his two younger siblings After meth he was a trembling wraith who lied stole and lived on the streets With haunting candour David Sheff traces the first subtle warning signs the denial the 3am phone calls is it Nic the police the hospital the attempts at rehab His preoccupation with Nic became an addiction in itself and the obsessive worry and stress took a tremendous toll But as a journalist he instinctively researched every avenue of treatment that might save his son and refused to give up on Nic This story is a first a teenager s addiction from the parent s point of view a real time chronicle of the shocking descent into substance abuse and the gradual emergence into hope Beautiful Boy is a fiercely candid memoir that brings immediacy to th